Shattered Wisps
by Eramis8
Summary: Roman and Neo share a dark and connected past. Papa!Torchwick and Child!Neo. Rated M for graphic content, violence, and cursing.
1. Chapter 1

**Humble Beginnings**

Roman Torchwick watched from behind a neighbor's tree as his target got into his car and drove off. Despite himself, the 19-year old thief was smiling at the homeowner's relentless attention to following his schedule. Which made it even easier to plan this robbery for Roman.

He'd first spotted the two-story house a few months ago on his walk to his job as a dishwasher in an upper-class restaurant. Not the best gig for a highly skilled criminal and fighter but it let him have the time he needed to plan his crimes and made sure he had enough money for his apartment, supplies, and whatever else he wanted. His outfit, a tan shirt and dark work jeans with sneakers allowed him to pass himself off a working-class guy that had been hired to work around people's houses anyway. Which gave him something of an air of legitimacy that protected him from police scrutiny on the streets of residential areas.

 _But back to the target_. He thought to himself as he slipped around the tree with his toolkit and made his way to the house's only first-floor window on this side of the house. The side that was blocked by a large rosebush from the street and had one of those showcase homes next door. Meaning no one was going to notice him.

He reached up to touch the window, releasing his semblance into the window frame. The ability to sense any type of electronic device nearby and even short-circuit them with concentrated thought were very helpful to someone in his illegal profession. He grinned as he realized there was no security system of any kind on the window or even the entire first floor. He reached into his toolkit and took out the crowbar that was his best friend and favorite skeleton key. He planted a light kiss on it before he brought it to the window with a full swing. Glass flew in all directions, and some got caught in the hair that covered his eye, but he quickly brushed that out without a care. It wasn't the first time it had happened after all.

Reaching into the broken window, he unlocked it and pushed it up to make it easy enough to get in. Once he was inside, he let his dark green eyes sweep over the room while his semblance started to pinpoint any fancy or expensive electronics he could nab.

"Okay then. I have just under four hours until that guy comes back, and even better there's no pressure from the cops or a security firm. Time to take this guy for everything he has." Roman whispered to himself as he started going through the room he was currently in. It was a dining room with a china cabinet and small desk and a full dining room set of chairs and the required table.

A quick search of the desk turned up personal identification papers: _Useful for identity thieves or people needing aliases_ ; a large amount of gold knickknacks: _Easy to pawn_ ; about 3000 lien in small bills: _Literal cash_ ; and a rather fancy cigar case that Roman decided he was going to be keeping for himself. Moving on to the rest of the first floor, he cleared the kitchen, the living room, a large office and personal study, and two bathrooms of everything of value. Fancy kitchen appliances? In his sack. Bank statements? He knew guys who would pay for those. Credit cards? Easy money on the black market. Extra cash laying around? Straight into his wallet. Flat-screen TV? Just the right size for his apartment.

With the first floor cleared and no basement, Roman turned his attention to the staircase and the second floor. Wisely positioning his haul from the first floor near his pre-planned escape route in case something happened, Roman made his way up to the second floor. He looked at all the doors, remembering which one he suspected was the master bedroom from his observations. He went to it and opened the door, letting his semblance scan this floor for valuables as his eyes looked for other goods. He took the wall-mounted TV down, its size a hair smaller than the one from downstairs. Roman tore through the bedroom, taking the man's watches and literal boxes of jewelry. Roman had never seen a lady come back with the honestly average-looking guy who owned this place, but he must have been seeing someone to have this much female jewelry in his house. Moving to the closet after he finished cleaning out the main part of the bedroom, Roman discovered a small safe. Rather than crack it now, he tossed the thing into his bag. Moving out of the room and onto the others, Roman noticed an odor hanging in the air. He couldn't place it, but it was rather disgusting and reminded him of when he had to throw away an aged steak because the chef had overcooked it for the customer's taste. His semblance pinged a keypad and electronic door lock as he finished going through his fourth bedroom and the two bathrooms on this floor.

Making his way over to the device, he let his mind focus and smirked as the keypad fizzed and sparked before deactivating. He pushed the previously locked door open, confident he would find the man's greatest treasures behind it. Instead, what he saw made him turn and sprint back into the nearest bathroom and start vomiting into the toilet.

He would never be able to get that image out of his head. _Decaying bodies were held up by their chained arms as pieces and chunks of them were carved out and scattered around like a surgeon or butcher had forgotten what they were doing. Their limbs were wrenched and any piece of clothing left was shredded and bloody. He couldn't count the amount of bloodstains both old and new that covered the walls and floor. The only thing that made it worse was the little girl, still intact at the back of the room, bloody bandages still wrapped around her throat and dirt covering her from head to toe. Her once white dress was stained and her little arms were marred with bruises. The pink half of hair was blood-caked and the brown half was stringy and even missing in a few patches, like it had been torn out._ He puked until all his stomach could give him was pure bile. Wiping his mouth and looking for his ill-gotten gains from this floor, he was shocked when he heard a child whimpering. Turning back to the nightmare room, he noticed the girl's eyes were wide open. Her filthy and stringy pink with white streaks and brown hair blocked his view of her right eye, but he see could pure fear in her left pink iris he could see. He didn't quite remember how he got her out of the room and down into the living room, only that when he regained his senses, she was sitting on the couch next to his bags of stolen goods as he knelt nearby and inspected her for any further injuries. He couldn't see any under the grime but between the dirt and the oversized formerly white dress, he couldn't really see anything besides her face now. When he looked into her eyes, he realized they had changed to a creamy white color and then started to cycle between that shade of white, bubblegum pink, and deep brown as she blinked.

"Don't worry, you're safe now. No one's going to hurt you." Roman reassured her, noticing the girl seemed a little skittish but he couldn't blame her in the slightest. Thinking about what he had discovered, he had two options: Leave and keep it to himself, or report it and risk being caught as the guy that had been terrorizing all of the communities nearby with his burglaries.

Just then, his scroll started to ring, signaling a call. Roman cursed under his breath as he drew it out and saw who was calling. It was his boss from his legitimate job.

"Hey, what is it?" He asked, keeping his voice as even as he possibly could. A miracle was what he needed right now.

"Do you think you can come in? I know tonight's your night off, but the guy that's supposed to be here called in sick." His boss requested, though it wasn't a request. But it gave Roman an idea.

"Sure thing, I'm going to be walking though so it might take me awhile." Roman replied.

"Just get here soon." And his boss hung up. Roman looked at the girl and his bags of loot. Time to put his newest plan into action.

* * *

The cops were currently tearing the house apart as Roman stood outside on the sidewalk, clutching the girl to him protectively as he could in hopes of convincing them he was just a gracious bystander.

After he had agreed to the extra shift, he had hidden the loot in one of his nearby caches while the girl had sat on the couch, still in shock from what had happened to her. He got back and carefully led her outside, unlocking and opening the front door before calling the cops. A move that no sane criminal would make, but Roman wasn't certain he would ever be sane again. Not after this house.

"Sir," A detective walked up to Roman with two paramedics on his heels, "These two will take her to the hospital. If you could…?" Roman didn't realize how tightly he had been holding her. He let go and knelt down, pushing his hair behind his ear as he looked into her two white eyes.

"Dearie, I need you to go with those nice people. Can you do that for me?" He asked, actually sincere about his concern for her. He could worry about whether it meant he was emotionally invested or just remembering his conscience later.

The girl nodded and reached out, tweaking his nose before running to the paramedics. They quickly escorted her to an ambulance and raced off with their lights flashing but no sirens. Roman watched as the emergency vehicle turned at the end of the block and disappeared from his sight.

"Mr. ...Torchwick, is it? What were you doing walking through this area at this time of day?" The detective gestured to the late evening.

"I was on my way to my job to cover a shift. I always walk this way because it's safer than the more direct route. Don't want to get mugged when you live paycheck to paycheck, you know?" He flashed a half-sincere grin, inwardly praying the lawman bought it.

The detective studied Roman's face for a bit before replying, "Understandable. You've already given your statement so we'll contact you if we need more testimony from you. You're free to go for the moment."

Roman couldn't believe it, and barely managed to hold back his smirk as he realized the cop had taken the lie without complaint. "Could you at least keep me in the loop about the girl?" He surprised himself by asking this favor of the cop.

The detective seemed to mull it over before he nodded. "It's the least I could do. You might have saved her life and helped us catch this sicko." Roman dumbly nodded before hurrying to his job. He had to finish the cover story anyways.

* * *

Over the next few days, Roman avoided doing anything that the cops would classify as suspicious as he waited for any news about the kid he'd saved.

"Saved? What the hell went so wrong that I did something good?" He questioned himself as he sat in his apartment after his latest shift. He felt himself start to remember his life before he had taken up burglary, unbidden and escaping under his lax mental security. But he squashed the memories before he could fully experience them.

 _No,_ he denied himself. _That was a different Roman. A different life._ He turned away from his thoughts as his scroll rang. He didn't look as he answered the call.

"What is it now?" He bemoaned, exhausted from the sleepless nights and his recent shift.

"Mr. Torchwick, I thought you might want to know that the girl is asking for you." The detective informed him, "Apparently she is refusing to talk to anyone until her 'father' arrives and the description she gave of him matches yours exactly."

"What?" Roman thought he had misheard the detective. Was the guy saying that the kid actually thought Roman was her dad? _God what fucked her head up that bad?_

"I'm letting you know since you requested the information anyways, but please do go check on her. If you can spare the time of course."

Roman felt a new surge of energy course through him, "Of course. Just tell me where to go."

* * *

Roman arrived at the hospital and was surprised at how easily they let him pass. He headed straight to the girl's room, easily identifiable by the two cops standing guard outside and a frazzled-looking doctor waiting with an impatient foot tapping a staccato rhythm on the tile floor.

"Ah, good you're here." The doctor said, her exhausted face not matching the energy he saw in her flat gray eyes.

"Yep. I came as soon as the detective hung up." Roman replied. God it had been an awful and long walk but until he could afford a car it was going to be his only transportation. They didn't teach you how to ride a bike where he grew up anyways.

"Now before I let you in there, we have to discuss some things." She told him, pushing her dark hair into something resembling a professional look.

"And that would be…?" Roman was feeling uncharacteristically impatient. God above, this kid was getting to him. And he wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

"First off, she's clearly been physically abused and suffered from severe starvation. We don't know if she'll ever grow as much as she ever could. She's particularly undersized for a six year-old, meaning that she'll likely need to undergo some physical therapy for her injuries and atrophied muscles. But what's most concerning is the damage to her vocal cords. Whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing. She'll never be able to talk." The doctor shook her head. "You might have saved her life, but I doubt the quality of it."

A fist slammed into the wall next to the doctor's head, shocking the doctor but not even stirring the cops nearby. "Listen here, and listen well. That girl in there survived shit you couldn't even come up with in your worst nightmares. I don't care how much it'll cost or even how long it will take, she's going to get a decent life like she deserves and I don't give a fuck about what you recommend or have to say on the matter." Roman nearly roared into the woman's face. Cowed by his outburst, the doctor shrunk away as Roman made a move towards the door. The two stationed police officers didn't stop him as he threw the door open.

Sitting up in a hospital bed was the girl. She had been cleaned up, letting her pale complexion shine under the fluorescent lights. They had even fixed up her hair so it was out of her face, meaning he could see her two pink eyes widen as she recognized him. She blinked and her now-white eyes glowed with happiness. She opened her mouth, trying to call out to him. But when no sound came out, she reached for her throat. Her hands played over the scarred and healing flesh, confusion bringing tears to her eyes.

To say Roman was heartless was an absolute lie spread by him to protect and maintain his image as a criminal. But rather than let her cry, he snapped into action.

"Hey Dearie, it's okay." He rushed to her side, pulling her close. She started to sniffle noiselessly, but managed to hold back her tears as she hugged him back. They held onto each other for what felt like an age before a feminine cough made them separate. Roman stepped away but remained at her bedside.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but I have a few questions for her. In private." The doctor requested. The girl looked at Roman as if requesting permission.

Roman nodded and muttered, "Fine, ask your questions. But I'm not leaving." The doctor humphed, but acquiesced. It was an unusual circumstance and she felt she should act more accommodating.

"Very well. I'm sorry to tell you that your injury has rendered you unable to speak. Do you remember what happened to you?" She asked, her tone measured. She had heard the police stationed outside talk and seen injuries for herself, so she could only imagine. Roman stiffened as a recollection of the room he had found her in flashed through his mind.

The girl shook her head no, and looked at Roman. Her expression grew concerned as she noticed how tense Roman was. Her eye color shifted, her right eye becoming pink and the other becoming brown. The doctor quickly noted the unusual ability and watched as Roman managed to relax.

"Next question. Do you recognize this man?" She pointed at Roman. The girl eagerly nodded and smiled at the question. Which made Roman feel rather embarrassed, especially since this was the second time they had met.

"Exactly who is he then? To you." The doctor asked the open question, momentarily forgetting her patient's condition. Roman immediately caught the doctor's mistake and started to rummage through his pockets. Just in time too, as the girl remembered she wasn't able to talk, so she started miming writing. He pulled out a few old receipts and a pen he had habitually pickpocketed off of the doctor and then handed them to the girl. She smiled at him then concentrated on writing.

They watched as she carefully wrote out in fittingly childish letters: **Papa**. She held it up proudly, pointing at Roman with a beaming smile.

"Right." The doctor said before turning to Roman, "Sir, if you would be so kind as to step outside with me?"

"Uh, sure." Roman followed stiffly as the girl watched. She wondered why the doctor-lady wanted her Papa outside.

* * *

The doctor closed the door and her eyes immediately tried to bore holes through his head.

"What is it now?" Roman was really getting tired of all this. Frankly the girl had him by the heart at this point and he knew lying to himself about it would get him nowhere.

"You yourself saw whatever she underwent yet apparently her mind has suppressed it. Furthermore, your apparent gallantry has planted this idea that you are her father into her head to replace the missing memories. I'm not sure if you are the best suited for…." She was cut off as Roman's expression turned dark.

"For what? To make a decision? To take care of her? I know what happens in situations like this. She'll be put in the foster care system and get floated around with no one who will understand her or what she went through. So after we're done here, I'm going down to the police to petition for their help to let me adopt her. So don't try and pull any of your shitty doctor bullshit to stop this. Got it?" Roman ordered her before reentering the girl's room. He went to stand by her bed as the visibly rattled doctor returned. _What the hell did I just promise?_ He thought as he focused on the returning doctor.

"Just one more question. What is your name?" She asked the girl. The combined forces of the police, the hospital, and even immigration authorities hadn't been enough to figure out who she was. The girl looked up from the doodles she had been making and started to write again.

 **Neopolitan** , the paper proudly proclaimed as her eyes both turned pink again. She looked at Roman with a pleading look, then pointed at him. He got the sense that she was asking for his last name.

"Torchwick." He said, making Neo, as he decided to nickname her, smile.

* * *

The next few weeks and months were an absolute rollercoaster of half-expected insanity for Roman.

Negatives: Multiple court hearings, visitations, classes and paperwork out his ass to get approved to adopt Neo; trying to offload some of his stolen caches without tipping off the police was made harder by their search for the thief that had broken into the killer's house and then apparently fled; several sessions of testifying and serving as the material witness to the insane serial killer's trial while maintaining his lie about being an unfortunate bystander. All of it made him want to beat someone until he felt better. Oh yeah, and his boss fired him for spending so much time in courtrooms and not working. Maybe he would be willing to take a few hits for Roman's stress relief.

Positives: The police and court didn't suspect him of being the thief and took his words at face value. Which meant Mr. Demented, as Roman thought of him, was spending the rest of his natural life in prison. One of his fences happened to come across a very snazzy weapon for him as well. A cane that came with a flare gun built in and more than a few surprise features once Roman was done with it. Which came in handy considering he got a job offer to be the night bartender at the upscale Xiong nightclub. Mr. Xiong might have been on the shadier side, but Roman was too and he needed the well-paying job anyways. Though the best part of it for him had to be when the bureaucrats finally got off their asses and declared him Neo's adoptive father and awarded him full custody. All he did after that announcement was run down the streets, belting showtunes at the top of his lungs. For which more than a few people tossed him some cash for his impromptu performance. Another bonus to a day already made.

The day that they finally let him take Neo home, Roman was nearly as giddy on the inside as she was on the outside. He practically had to carry her to keep her from bouncing ahead of him in her unbridled joy. He showed her around the apartment, then showed her what he had designated as her room.

When she saw the specially made teddy bear Roman had ordered sitting on her bed, she practically teleported in her haste to hug it. Roman smiled as she squeezed the bear, their shared size making it even more adorable. With its two-toned split of strawberry pink and chocolate brown, he could have passed them off as twins.

When she stopped trying to squeeze the stuffing out of her new toy, Roman signed his question to her. _What-do-you-want-for-dinner?_ Neo eagerly signed back an enthusiastic request for ice cream. His reply was a sigh as he went back to his kitchen and started making a light dinner for the two of them. Once he was finished and they had both eaten, he took her out for the ice cream she wanted. It didn't come as a surprise to him that she made him order her a cone of her namesake ice cream.

* * *

They soon found themselves developing a suitable routine. Each morning Neo would wake up for school and eat breakfast with Roman after he showered and then he would see her off to school. Then he would sleep until she got home, and they would do whatever needed to be done that day together. Grocery shopping, homework, cleaning the apartment, whatever it was they did it together. After that, Roman would wait until it was Neo's bedtime, and then he would tuck her in and after he made sure she was asleep, he would leave for his shift at the nightclub. When that finished up around 4 in the morning, he usually spent the rest of the time he had until he needed to be home for Neo doing his best to limit his criminal activities to ones that weren't too risky but still made a profit.

Thanks to their routine, the days flew by until it was a year from the day that he first met her. From the day he became her savior and protector. But all of that was overshadowed by Neo's sudden illness. It started as a sniffle and a cough that turned into coughing up blood and a severe fever in a matter of hours. Roman had her back in the hospital in a flash as he prepared himself to do whatever it would take to save the girl that had made remember what about life was good.

* * *

The doctors blamed this new illness on a latent infection from her injuries at the hands of the killer. And no matter what they did, they couldn't do much more than slow its progress. Roman spent everything he had, selling all of his stolen caches to cover the expenses, but the bills kept coming as he pressed them to do everything they could to save Neo. And as much as it pissed him off, Roman found himself working bigger and bigger jobs to make ends meet. Which meant less time with Neo. "The Will' O' Wisp" as he was known to the police, became one of the most feared criminals and occasional killer in Vale as Roman managed to build his own criminal empire to try and save his daughter. All the while, he managed to stay by Neo's side as much as he could and maintained his cover at the nightclub.

* * *

One night as he mentally cursed every higher power he could think of, he heard a new voice at the bar.

"Are you Roman Torchwick?" The sultry voice wormed its way into his brain in a way that immediately set off warning bells in his mind. He looked at the speaker and barely managed to keep his jaw attached. The woman who sat in front of him was beautiful. Her ash black hair curled and framed a face full of the deadliest type of beauty. Her curves were hugged by the red silk dress that only served to highlight her fiery yellow eyes. He subconsciously compared her eyes to the flame of his lighter, the only thing he always carried besides his cane since he had taken up smoking as a stress reliever from all the bullshit he put up with.

"Nice to see you can read." He replied, his more sarcastic nature drawn out as a defense mechanism. This woman was trouble and every fiber of his being told him to run and not look back.

"Just wanted to confirm." She gave him a smile that might have charmed a weaker-willed man but Roman was a man on a mission and some chick's smile wasn't going to derail him. No matter how hot she was.

"All right. What do you want?" Roman asked, leaning on the bar to match her gaze. She smirked at his brash question.

"I'm looking to hire you and your people for something." She replied, her sly grin setting a pit in his stomach. _Yep, going to be the death of me._

Roman tried to play it off with a flip of his long bangs, "Listen, I'm a bartender. I don't have people, I serve drinks." He gave her a humorless smile. "So what are you really after?"

For a second the woman's eyes flared with rage before fading into unreadable embers. "What I'm after Will' O' Wisp, is the best thief in all of Vale and bane of its government."

Roman couldn't hide his reaction this time as she mentioned his criminal alias. "I'm going to ask again. What do you want?" He snarled at the woman.

"I'm looking to hire you for your talents. And I'm willing to pay more than you can imagine. But then again your imagination might be a little stretched with your daughter in the hospital." Roman stiffened and looked around the bar, and once he was sure no one was close by he leaned in to reply.

"You have ten seconds before I shoot you."

"My dear Roman that would be a bad idea. Considering I happen to have the connections necessary to get that specialist from Atlas here, just for her." The woman smiled the way a poker champion would after beating their archrival.

Roman was torn by his desires. He could shoot her and eventually make enough money to get the specialist himself, but he knew Neo didn't have that much time. Or he could hire himself out to this woman, who would probably find some way to enslave him or keep him on a leash at the minimum. _Fuck this woman and her ball-crushing tactics._ "Fine. What's the job?"

The woman's smirk was too self-gratifying for Roman to find pleasant.

* * *

Looking at the Schnee Dust Company depot, Roman knew his hands were full. Security cameras, robot guards, and classic rent-a-cops made up his opponents. So he was really glad this wasn't a smash and grab mission. Even he couldn't handle this much, which meant he'd taken the liberty of making the job into a con.

So in order to look the part, Roman had updated his wardrobe. He took his dress uniform from the nightclub and made it the base of his new outfit. Removing the red tie, he replaced it with a gray ascot and pulled on a white jacket with a red velvet interior to add in the required air of professionalism. To top it off, he found himself a bowler hat, one that he had fallen in love with a long time ago and could only now afford. It was made of some of the rarest and exquisite materials in all of the kingdoms, and now it was his. Adding a little bit of flair to get-up, he used some eyeliner to make sure his eyes popped the way he needed them to for this to work. And he couldn't forget his cane if he tried.

Properly dressed for the job, Roman did what no one would expect a thief to do, he waited until morning and everyone was on the job to strike. He walked right up to the gate of the depot, a clipboard in his hand, a lit cigar in his frowning mouth, and the air of someone pissed off emanating from him.

"All right Mac, let me through. Today's inspection needs to get underway." Roman told the gate security guard, puffing his cigar angrily. The only guard at the gate, a male wolf-Faunus, sat up in surprise and stared at Roman blankly.

"What?"

"You heard me! Let me through! I've got three more inspections to do today so I can't dilly dally because you haven't had your coffee." Roman angrily shouted at the Faunus, making him cringe. Though Roman chalked it up to the Faunus's lack of a spine than his tone.

"Of course!" The guard quickly buzzed Roman through, terrified by the idea of upsetting a superior. Roman rolled his eyes to cover his relief at the gullible Faunus. Making his way into the facility, he made his way to their offices, unchallenged thanks to his intimidating presence. Once he was ensconced in their server room, he pulled out his scroll and docked it in the central system. With a quick press of a few buttons, Roman was the proud owner of a copy of the Schnee Dust Company's shipping orders, manifestos, and timetables. After deciding he needed something more concrete and personal for this theft, he left the offices and entered one of the warehouses. Snuffing his cigar so he didn't die to some stupid accident, Roman looked through some of the crates and lined his pockets with some vials of Dust. Satisfied, he left the depot, a slight grin on his face as he waved goodbye to the guard. The stupefied guard waved right back.

* * *

"Here." Roman passed the drive with the information on it to Cinder as she sat at his bar again. His mysterious employer gave him one of those false smiles meant to bewitch him, but he detected a sincere hint of elation at his speedy completion. _Great, now to be done with this woman._ He turned his attention back to his normal job, cleaning some dirty glasses to kill time until she left.

"I am sincerely impressed. I only gave you the job two days ago and I already have the fruits of your labor in my hands." She held it up before pocketing it.

"Now you hold up your end of the bargain. I expect that specialist to be getting Neo back on her feet by this time tomorrow." He replied, turning back to his more mundane job of mixing drinks and cleaning glasses.

"Oh, Roman… don't worry about it. He arrived yesterday and was only waiting on my word to go. Though I do have something else to offer." Roman could hear the baiting tone in her voice but he was too overcome with relief to consider avoiding the hook.

"And what would that be?" He didn't bother to look at her as he continued to clean glasses nearby.

"How about you come work for me? You would earn ten times what the petty doctor is getting paid for this single consultation for each job." She offered a small envelope, but he could see the lien practically bursting from it. "Consider this a signing bonus, if you would." Roman looked at the envelope and considered his options. _Become a full-time criminal, which would require Neo becoming homeschooled and learning from him between jobs, but making tons of money or go back to his roots and try to live the mostly clean life and working until he died?_

His hand decided for him. It snatched up the envelope and stuffed it into his pocket. "Just give me a month to settle everything before we go into business there, partner." Once again, her smile was too self-satisfied for his liking but at least he was getting some serious lien out of it.

* * *

 **Simple request instead of a long author's note: please review and comment to help a writer get better. We need the feedback.**


	2. Chapter 2

**So originally this was going to be a one-shot kind of thing, though it seems like the story might need to go on. Sorry it took so long but hey, real life still happens.**

 **Response to SilverstormXD: I have no clue what you meant but it is nice to see another Neo and Roman fan running around.**

 **Response to Sillva: Thanks, much appreciated.**

 **Henta1Rampag3: Thanks to you too. I'm glad you liked it.**

 **A New Shade of Life**

True to his word, Roman spent the next month readying himself for his new job. First thing on his list was to make sure that Neo was healthy and released from the hospital; something that wouldn't have happened if a specialist had heard of the case from a friend and come of his own free will. That wasn't to say he was doing it for free. But that had been taken care of by the 'friend'. In all honesty Roman couldn't care less about how the specialist knew Cinder or what he was getting out of it, but he couldn't complain about the results.

The second thing on his list was to move. It wasn't that he needed to, in all honesty, but Roman felt it would be safer to live in a neighborhood where everyone already worked for him instead of an apartment complex not far from the local police precinct. But that was just his not-so humble opinion. Plus it would give Neo playmates since most of his lackeys were family men as well.

Third on his list was to ensure Neo would get the proper education. Which meant he was going to be teaching her all she needed to know to protect herself and some day steal the criminal underworld right out from under him. So he pulled her out of public school and made it his mission to be the best crime teacher ever.

When the month was up and he and Neo were situated in their new living arrangements, he officially started working for Cinder. And it was pretty much the same as he was doing before she had shown up, just with a grander scale. Planning out and setting up jobs for his own network and Cinder's was surprisingly easy now that he didn't have to worry about Neo constantly, freeing him up for more than enough time to homeschool Neo and then some. Every morning he would check his scroll for any messages from Cinder before starting Neo's lessons. He taught the classics: reading, math, science, writing, escapology, conwork, and etiquette. Once they were done with her morning lessons, he would take Neo along to their headquarters where an unofficial after-school care center was run by his right hand Faunus, Perry. Then he would spend the afternoon working on whatever Cinder needed planned, sending out his daily ring of pickpockets and low-level thieves, and planning out his own sidejobs. All in all, a pretty simple day and one that left him with plenty of free time.

His favorite thing had to be the fact that as her homeschool teacher, he could authorize "field trips" to let Neo learn from hands-on experience. Nothing quite as funny to him as when Neo would pickpocket someone and get caught only for people to laugh it off as adorable.

"C'mon now, if I've told you once I've told you a lot: Don't use your thumb to stretch the pocket open." Roman told her, holding the wallet of her latest mark. The business man had been so distracted by Neo's silent but physically active apology that Roman had had the chance to take it without worry.

Neo only humphed and crossed her arms at the reminder, before holding her hand out for Roman to take so she wouldn't get swept away in the morning foot traffic. Leading her to a small cafe for breakfast, Roman picked out their breakfast.

After setting Neo's breakfast of a small bagel and a bottle of milk in front of her and grabbing his own large coffee and breakfast sandwich, Roman quizzed her.

"Now for the test: Was the mark good or bad? Why? Bonus points if you can identify where he worked or what he was carrying." He held the wallet open like it was an answer book.

Neo started to sign back her answer. _Bad.-Wary-of-pickpockets-and-not-carrying-much-lien.-Schnee-Corporate-Office-Vale.-2000._ She concluded by suggesting they get ice cream and stop by the toy store like she always wanted whenever he brought her here to train.

"Correct. You saw his engraved cuff links and wrong, its actually 5000 in small bills, which covered breakfast well, don't you think?" Roman answered. Neo nodded and swung her legs, glad that she had passed the test. Tests and training with her Papa were as fun as playing with her friends after her lessons.

Once they finished their breakfast, Roman spent the morning doing recon on several downtown stores while Neo practiced her silent cons and trick games on passersby as homework.

When it was time for them to return to his office for the afternoon crime work, Roman had some choice information for racketeering and targets for protection fees while Neo had made a hundred lien and stolen several wallets and even some jewelry, which he didn't remember teaching her how to do but she might have figured it out for herself considering how smart she was.

"Hey Perry, let everyone know I'm here and ready for the day." Roman told his favorite Faunus before watching Neo skip off to find her friends currently wreaking havoc in Perry's normally organized corner of the warehouse he used for a headquarters.

"Uhm, sir... you have a visitor in your office already." Perry told him, doing his best to avoid Neo's clutches as she tried to use him like a jungle gym.

Taking a second to think of who would dare to do something that shameless, Roman came to a simple conclusion, "Well, I can't keep her waiting. Neo, have fun with Uncle Perry while Daddy works." Neo eagerly pulled Perry onto his back as her friends joined the pile-up for a response. Roman watched the innocent joy of the children for a moment before heading to his office. Opening the door, Roman saw exactly who he was expecting to see: Cinder.

"Hello Roman." The always mysterious raven-haired woman said to him with a slight smile.

"You know, only communicating with you via scrolls for the past eight months has been absolutely..."Roman told her, taking the opportunity to pull out a cigar and light it. "fantastic. No need to worry about anything." He took a drag as Cinder frowned at him.

"Now, now Roman is that any way to talk to your boss?" Cinder stepped closer, taking his cigar from him. Roman gave her his own frown when she crushed it under her heel.

"You're right. But so am I. So what is going so wrong that you felt the need to visit in person?" Roman looked her square in the eye, one of a handful of people that could get away with it without incurring her fiery wrath. He had lost a good enforcer to that but at least everyone got the memo: don't piss off the boss's boss.

"Ever since your first job, I've been working to get a foothold in Atlas but a certain group is preventing this." She informed him

"I'm a thief and crime boss with tons of men at my disposal. But there's obviously something that takes a large amount of brains if you've come to get me to take care of it."

"Your wit never fails you." Cinder's dry sarcasm killed Roman's good vibe faster than a snuffed candle flame. "I need you to go and meet up with their syndicate's leader. He's willing to talk about joining if we properly motivate him."

Taking out another cigar and lighting it, Roman smirked, "So I'm supposed to negotiate with him and then deal with whatever inane request he makes?" Cinder's unwavering gaze answered him. "Right. Any special requests?"

"Try not to kill them. We need as many people in Atlas as possible. You'll be leaving tomorrow."

"Wait, tomorrow? When... how... who...?" Roman questioned, at a loss of information and therefore words. Something he despised.

"Yes tomorrow. 8:30 at the Vale main airhub, its already reserved, and the information is already on your scroll." Cinder started to leave, before turning back to look at Roman. "Fail and don't bother trying to come back."

Roman watched Cinder as she left before deciding to leave to check on Neo.

He found her and most of his men's kids using an empty crate to play some child's game.

"Dearie," Neo turned to look at her father, "We're going on vacation tomorrow so we need to go pack our bags."

* * *

The next afternoon Roman found himself in front of an average motel with Neo, their bags, and an impending migraine. Cinder's note hadn't exactly been full of helpful hints. It had told him where he had a room reservation, where the meeting would be and the fact that it was in a week, and a suggestion to snoop around the capital. After dropping off their suitcases and heading out, Roman took Neo to explore the city while he did some window shopping, both in the ordinary and criminal senses of the phrase.

Deciding to let Neo go and look into a toy store's front window, Roman used the opportunity to appraise the walking tincans on the street corners. Atlesian Knight-100 models if he wasn't wrong. They had been first made after the Faunus Rights Revolution, if he remembered his history correctly. Turning away from the walking eyesores, Roman looked at the toy store's front for a familiar pink and brown head of hair. When he didn't spot it, he rushed to the storefront, turning and searching for any sign of Neo. After failing to find her, Roman started running up and down the street asking anyone in earshot if they had seen her. After spending close to a half-hour frantically searching for her, Roman's scroll went off. Pulling out the device, he was relieved to see it was Neo calling him like he'd taught her to do if she got lost.

Roman answered the call, not waiting for a nonexistent voice to speak to him,"Dearie, I'm standing at the corner of-"

"We know where you are, Mr. Torchwick," A male voice that was obviously not Neo's told him. "The question is whether you know where your daughter is."

Roman immediately wished that his semblance was something that could strangle this guy through the scroll, but decided to save himself some time so he could do it in person. "Look I know what this is, so let's skip all the cliches. Tell me what it is you want in exchange for my daughter and I'll take care of it."

"No wonder you were chosen. Very business-minded. You were going to have a meeting with our leader in a few days. Instead, you're meeting him tonight." Roman could hear some kind of commotion in the background, likely caused by Neo reacting to his voice.

"And you want me to fulfill whatever request he makes? In that case, I'll save my big speech for him then, but make no mistake: hurt her and I hurt you worse."

"Don't worry, time and place will be sent to your scroll." The kidnapper hung up, leaving Roman to stare at his scroll while he did his best not to crush it in his barely restrained fury. They had no idea who they were dealing with.

* * *

Neo wasn't scared. Papa had taught her what to be afraid of so she wasn't afraid when the mean men took her from her spot in front of the toy store. No, Neo was angry that they were trying to use her to make Papa do something he wouldn't. Even she couldn't make Papa do anything he didn't want to, no matter how cute her pleading look was.

So when she bit one of the men, they tied her to a chair and carried her into a warehouse similar to the one her Papa and Uncle Perry worked in. Once they left her alone to go do bad-guy things, Neo started her own plan. Remembering her lessons, she started her own escape. Neo was very angry and that meant something bad was going to happen to someone who deserved it.

* * *

Roman looked at the abandoned parking lot as the streetlights flickered on. He rolled his eyes when they found the black limousine waiting for him with an open door and a muscular thug in a suit waiting for him. Deciding it was a more constructive use of his time, he hurried up his pace and took a seat in the limo without waiting to be told to.

"Well, aren't you presumptuous?" The hired muscle told him when he climbed in and closed the door.

"Considering you're the ones who invited me here, I think not. Let's hurry this up." Roman looked at the leader of the Atlesian group of criminals he was supposed to be meeting with to negotiate a partnership with. The chances of which were entirely gone, thanks to them.

"This must be why she sent you, Roman Torchwick. I can see that you've definitely got the business savvy and the style, but I can't figure out how you went from working in a a bar to working under that bitch. Which is why I arranged this." The leader told him, giving him a shady smile.

"You arranged my daughter's kidnapping to satisfy your curiosity? That is... probably one of the most over the top ways to ask me to join up with you." Roman casually replied, pulling out a cigar, lighting it, and taking a drag on it.

The leader's amused gaze met Roman's when he looked up from his cigar. "You've got the potential if you figured that out. Yes, you can consider this an interview for a position of management in my organization. So I'll answer your question with one of my own. What is my demand?"

Roman's own expression grew smug, hiding his inner rage at the imbecile sitting across from him. _Does this guy really think this will work?_ "You want me to give you all the information I have on my boss's organization so you can take it out and expand into Vale. Which I could do if you're willing to let me be the branch manager on that side."

The leader laughed, replying, "You are the real deal Roman Torchwick. How long until I can get you on my payroll? And don't worry about your daughter, she's perfectly fine. Once you send me the information I'll have her dropped off at your room at the motel. Sound good?"

"Very. It'll take about 12 hours for me to get all the information together for delivery. That okay?" Roman faked a mildly embarrassed expression, knowing that he could have become a politician or an actual actor with how good his organization and acting skills were. The leader fell for it, taking the bait like it had been made of pure lien. Which it was, in a manner of speaking.

"Perfect." With that settled, Roman stepped out of the limo and watched as it drove off. It wouldn't take him 12 hours to do what he had planned. It would only take 8 hours to destroy that bastard.

* * *

Neo had manged to saw through most of the ropes tying her to the chair thanks to the nail file she always carried at Papa's insistence. Luckily the bad-guys were too stupid to think that she would try something. Especially her newest trick that even Papa didn;t know about.

* * *

Roman stood outside an old warehouse, a vague sense of déjà vu hitting him until he remembered why he had come. It hadn't taken much to bribe and persuade some of the lower idiots in the organization to give up the place once they had heard what he had to say.

Breaking into the place wasn't hard. No guards, and already broken windows were ready-made for that. Once he found the main area and the room they were holding Neo in, he rechecked his cane's ammo to make sure it was ready to deal with possible-Aura users and kicked the door in with as casual an air as he could manage giving the circumstances.

He walked into the room, the two kidnappers looking at him as he strode between stacks of crates piled up to his shoulders. They stood there in matching get-ups, all black sweats with swords in their hands and Neo tied to a chair between them. He stopped between two crates, blocking any escape from the cleared area in front of him

"What the hell?" The one on the left said, looking to his partner.

Roman immediately frowned, and pointed with his cane, There's a child in here and you're using that kind of language? Are you trying to make me even more angry?"

"Wait, you mean...you're-" The one on the right stuttered.

"Her father? Yes. And now I'm taking her back." Roman pointed his cane at the one that had cursed.

"Is that so?" The kidnapper he was currently threatening inquired, stepping back and pointing his sword at Neo. She didn't move, making Roman worry. It worried him even more when the kidnapper made sure to poke her to prove he was serious.

He wasn't prepared for Neo to shatter and neither were they. The three grown men watched as the glass-like pieces scattered and dissipated into nothingness, revealing an empty chair and a pile of cut ropes. Roman nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt two small arms wrap around his waist, letting someone short their head into the small of his back. He reached back with his free hand, stroking Neo's hair while he prepared himself for a very different twist in his plans.

"Dearie, stay behind the crates over there and cover your ears. Daddy doesn't want you to see what's about to happen." Roman ordered her as gently as he could while tightening his grip on his cane. It wasn't about to be pretty when he finished up in here.

Once he heard Neo scurry to her hiding place, he turned his attention back to the kidnappers, who were no longer fazed by the mysterious trick.

"Nice trick there Pops, but it ain't gonna save you." The one on the left said, more than ready to fight. The one on the right seemed more hesitant, unsure of the danger he was about to place himself in.

"Do you have any idea who you just pissed off? I'm the Will' O' Wisp!" He yelled. Both kidnappers flinched. Even in Atlas they told stories of the most dangerous criminal to rule Vale's underground. _What did the boss get us into?_ They simultaneously thought.

Rather than give them a chance to recover, Roman let his semblance loose, bringing all the electronics in the room to his mental attention. _There it is,_ he thought, concentrating on the breakers for the room's lights. As they blew out and left the room in total darkness, Roman's semblance kept him appraised of the kidnappers as well. Wearing electronic watches and hanging their scrolls on their belts was about to be their undoing.

Roman surged forward, blocking the blind swings from the left kidnapper with his cane. Using his superior skill and strength to continue the block with a single hand, Roman threw a punch into the thug's solar plexus, driving the breath and strength from the attack. The kdinapper wheezed as he tried to breathe, his powerless legs failing to keep him from falling to the ground.

Turning his attention to the other one, Roman sensed the blind scramblings of the terrified thug on the right, lowering himself to the floor to find his partner in the darkness. Roman stepped away, letting the two get closer to each other.

"Are you afraid yet?" He whispered into the darkness, his footsteps silent as he circled them in waiting. The one thug that was searching flinched so badly he fell backwards onto his partner, making the injured one groan in pain. Roman 'watched' as he helped his partner up, careful of the injury.

"The boss really screwed this up for us, huh?" The injured one asked his supporter. Rather than let them continue their little sob story, Roman overloaded their watches, making their arms spasm as electricity coursed through them. They both howled in pain, dropping their weapons and falling to the ground.

"Gentlemen, its been fun but I have a meeting with your boss." Roman told them, raising his cane and flicking the trigger on his cover/scope. He didn't wait for a reply before he pulled the trigger, emptying the entirety of the cane's capacity into the downed men. He didn't have to see the bodies to know they were dead from the close range explosions, particularly with the unmistakable smell of blood hanging in the air. But just to be safe though, he overloaded their scrolls, sending more volts through their bodies than they could hope to survive through.

Trusting his mental map of the pitch-black room, Roman made his way to the crate that Neo was crouching behind.

"Time to go Dearie." Roman told Neo, moving her hands from her ears to his coat so she could follow him out of the room. Though he bumped into a few crates on the way, he managed to lead them out of the room and the warehouse before he told Neo it was safe to open her eyes. The smile he got when she opened her eyes to see him was worth the aggravation of keeping himself in check up to this point. He hugged her, promising that he would never let this happen again.

"When we get home, I'm teaching you how to fight."

* * *

When Papa left the motel room to 'finish his business', Neo jumped on the bed like she loved to do at home. It gave her a chance to think. Papa had stopped the bad men and now he was going to teach her how to fight. Her Papa was the best.

* * *

The leader of the Atlesian group sat alone in his private office, eagerly waiting for the fruits of his labors. Taking the Torchwick boy out from underneath that bitch was going to make him the baddest crime boss in two kingdoms and there was nothing that was going to stop him.

The door of his office brust open, spilling a battered and bloody guard thug onto his floor.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." he apologized, starting to push himself up from the floor. The leader could only stare at the guard as a gunshot echoed from the hallway beyond the door and the guard's head exploded. Looking up at the source of the gunfire, his eyes found a furious Roman Torchwick stalking towards him, a bloodthirsty and confidant smile only marred by a splash of blood painting streaks across his face.

"Sorry about the mess, but you should get guards that understand when to get out of my way." Roman told him, casually stepping over the body while he raised his cane's muzzle in the leader's direction. The leader did his best to keep his face placid while he panicked and slowly reached for a pistol in its side holster.

Roman fired a shot, tearing the leader's ear off while he tutted. Covering the bloody remains of his ear, the leader swore at Roman. "Fucking hell boy, why? You could have been on the winning side." Roman didn't reply, instead choosing to shoot the leader in three times in the chest. With the leader now laying dead in a pool of his own blood, Roman calmed down enough to reply. "You kidnap my daughter, try to use her to extort information from me, don't even bother to do your research on your target, and you had the balls to think I would work for you? Fuck you, you stupid piece of shit." Roman stomped on the dead crime boss's head, grinding his boot in for good measure.

He sifted through the corpse's pockets, finally finding the man's wallet and scroll. He cleaned the wallet and activated the scroll, putting in a conference call to all contacts.

"This is the Will O' Wisp. I just killed your boss and if you don't want to end up like him, you'll work for me and my friends in Vale." He said before hanging up.

He walked out of the office without a backwards glance, thinking to himself _Mission accomplished and still enough time to enjoy a real vacation._

* * *

"You might have disobeyed my order to not kill, but you got the job done without any other problems and they've been more than happy with the change in management." Cinder told Roman as they stood in his office. Fresh off the airship and the first thing Cinder wanted was a meeting with him.

"So then I'll just take this as your version of a compliment." Roman said with a level of satisfaction that hid his remaining anger over the kidnapping and attempted extortion.

"Yes, so I expect you to have jobs prepared for our newest branch as soon as possible."

"Of course."

* * *

 **And so the organization now has a foothold in Atlas as well as Vale, where will they go from here?**

 **Feel free to send in ideas, it will help motivate me to work through future chapters.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Special thanks to Shotgun Steve for giving me the idea for this chapter. It's been… way too long honestly. Plus side, this story is picking up a following: Almost 1000 views, 20 followers, and 18 favorites. Color me impressed. Anyways, here's what you've been waiting for.**

* * *

 **Chapter Three: Atlas Betrayed**

If anyone asked Roman what his favorite number was, his answer would be "anything other than seven." Roman hated the number seven for a lot of reasons. Seven was the number of times he'd had to testify back during the psycho's trial, something that haunted his nightmares in a way nothing else ever could. Seven was how old Neo was when she had nearly died. Seven was how many days he spent in the hospital after an accident while training Neo had nearly cost him the ability to have his own biological kids. He wasn't a hundred percent certain but he was pretty sure he had met Cinder on the seventh of whatever month it had been. And it was seven years on the dot that all his hard work in Atlas went to complete shit.

"Why the fuck is it always the sevens?" Roman muttered into a glass of half-finished bourbon as he studied the reports from the latest strings of attempted robberies and other felonies. All had been colossal failures that had cost him time, money, and even some of the men sent out on the jobs. And it pissed him off to no end to think that a plan of his was flawed enough to fail.

"Perry, what do you make of these?" He questioned his right-hand Faunus. The yesman studied the reports, poring over them with a fervor that concerned Roman about the poor guy's mental health before he straightened up and looked to Roman.

"Either the police are developing psychic abilities to predict our movements or there is an intelligence leak somewhere in the Atlas branch." Perry told him as much determination and respectful meekness that he could muster. Roman nodded, then started to consider his options. And it looked like this was a problem that required a direct solution.

"Perry, if you could get a list of any remaining members of the old Atlesian syndicate that have access to job information, I would appreciate it. Also, see about booking a flight to Atlas for me in a few days. A private charter." Roman instructed his top henchman before leaving the Faunus to work. He had things to plan.

* * *

After arriving in Atlas with Neo and Perry in tow, Roman considered the dangers of not telling Cinder what was going on. Then he dismissed those thoughts before he could feel the imaginary fire searing him for his supposed incompetence. They set up their base of operations in a modest three-star hotel overlooking the capital's main market district. A perfect bird's-eye view for the crime boss and his two confidantes.

"Neo," Roman said, making her look up from a bowl of ice cream and nearly drop her spoon. Roman watched her fumble for the spoon with amusement before continuing, "I'm going to meet with our first possible backstabber. Make sure to do what Uncle Perry asks of you." Neo nodded, compliant with the normal request. She could do whatever she wanted with Uncle Perry around anyways.

"Sir, the file…" Perry handed Roman a manila folder, stuffed full of documents and pictures. Roman didn't know what kind of sources Perry had but the Faunus never failed him or left anything important out of his reports. Roman opened it and quickly leafed through the documents and pictures, absorbing the important details with a bored look on his face.

His target: Bellona Greyhide, a wolf Faunus that used to be the head of the old syndicate's long-term infiltrators. Currently he was the handler of the Atlesian dirty cops for Roman. Known connections to the White Fang, the SDC, and even the Atlesian military. What to expect: his semblance was the ability to sense other people's aura levels and their vulnerabilities. His primary weapon was a dagger that used Dust-infused poisons to incapacitate or overtly kill his opponents.

"Seems like he might have a decent reason enough to betray us." Roman muttered. Neo managed to hear it and instinctively tightened her grip on her parasol. Whenever anyone brought up the night she had been kidnapped by the syndicate in an attempt to force Roman to betray Cinder, all she could do was remember her vow to never be that weak again. Years of training in gymnastics, Roman's variation of cane fighting, and semblance practice had made her stronger but she had never had to fight someone seriously yet. And she was afraid she might not be strong enough, even now.

"Anyways, I'm off." Roman turned to leave, only to feel a small tug on his coat. He turned back and met Neo's white eyes. She wordlessly extended the hand that wasn't stuck in his coat to give him something. Recognizing the old teddy bear that he had first given to her, he took it with a smile and tucked it into an inner pocket of his coat. They shared a smile before Roman left the hotel room, knowing that he had every reason to come back alive.

* * *

Meeting in an alleyway that was far from any patrolling robots was an expected requirement of criminals in Atlas. So it didn't surprise Bellona that Roman wanted to meet in one. The crime boss stood waiting for him when he finally arrived, half shadowed by the lack of nearby lighting.

"Nice to see you, Fluffy. How are you doing?" Roman called out to the wolf-Faunus, knowing it would get a rise out of the proud man. But Bellona didn't fall for it, instead choosing to grit his teeth against the harsh words he wanted to say back. Though his ears flattened out of sheer annoyance at the crime boss's disrespect.

"Boss, it's been a while." He extended a hand that Roman took a second to look at before shaking "What brings you out here?"

"Rat-hunting." Bellona was too disciplined to show any reaction to the simple proclamation.

"Boss, I know we've had a bad string these past weeks but my guys on the inside couldn't do much with all the new rookies running around looking for their big breaks." Bellona said, looking Roman in the eyes. And neither of them were showing anything.

"I'm glad to hear that actually. Newbies are rather easy to manipulate for someone with your experience. But I'm wondering a few things. Would you indulge my ramblings?" The Faunus shook his head to acknowledge the request, knowing he was in it for the long haul now.

"Anything for the boss that managed the impossible."

Roman smiled at the platitude, but didn't let it stroke his ego unnecessarily. "You're referring to the first multi-kingdom crime syndicate? I guess you're right about that. But what I'm wondering is why you would stay to work for me? I mean I did promote you and turn this small-time racket into a multi-billion lien system, but come on, I killed your previous boss. And he was your godfather after all." Bellona flinched like Roman had struck him across the face.

* * *

Roman continued like nothing had happened, turning away and raising his arms like he was rallying a crowd. "So if you turned out to be the rat, it wouldn't really surprise me. But since I don't have any proof either way, I've decided to play a little game of chance. If you're the one betraying me, you have the perfect opportunity to try and kill me. And if you're not, now you know what to look out for and help me deal with. So you can call it an act of trust." Roman turned around, a smug grin on his face. The smile froze when the dagger from Bellona hit him between the ribs.

* * *

Bellona felt the blade pierce through Roman's aura at his weakest point. He smiled as the crime boss stumbled backwards off the blade, twisted and fell to the ground prone. Bellona didn't bother to look to make sure the crime boss was dead, since his dagger never failed to claim its victims.

"That was for him." Bellona whispered as he walked off, sheathing his dagger with the bittersweet taste of revenge filling his mouth. Now it was time for Phase 2 of his plan.

* * *

Neo felt a chill run down her spine as she sat in the hotel room watching TV. She looked over to see her Uncle Perry had passed out in a pile of paperwork, reminding her of all the trouble she had caused him as a child. Only the Faunus's great patience had kept Neo from ending up in more trouble than she normally did.

She heard someone knock on the door of the hotel room, snapping her out of the memories. Wondering if it was the room service she had ordered with her ice cream since Papa had a key to the room, Neo went to open the door.

When she opened the door, she was surprised to see a gray-colored boy and a girl with mint-green hair standing there. They looked to be about two or three years younger than her, but Neo could tell that they were cut from the same cloth as her. They were child criminals and there was nothing that could hide that. Despite being taller than her, which annoyed her to no end.

The girl was wearing a long-sleeved mint-green shirt that matched her hair and black running shorts. The boy's gray hair and eyes were as uniformly gray as his T-shirt and the dirt on his faded black jeans.

"Hi, we're looking for your dad. We know he works for Cinder." The girl said, her blood-red eyes meeting Neo's surprised pink and brown ones. She wasn't expecting Aunt Cinder to have her own kids. Papa always joked that Aunt Cinder was too old to have any.

She shook her head, not expecting them to know that she was mute, much less how to do sign language.

"So your dad isn't here?" The girl questioned, shooting the boy a look when he groaned with boredom.

"You're trying to talk to a mute? Are you stupid or something?" He complained, putting both of his hands behind his head to cradle it. The girl smacked him in the chest, making him lower his hands before smacking his head. Neo had a silent laugh at the display, almost wishing that she had a sibling to try that out on.

She ducked back into the room, quickly swiping a pen and a clean piece of paper from Uncle Perry's desk. She returned as the two kids started to bicker in the hallway. Getting their attention by thrusting her parasol between them, she drew a map to the meeting location so they could go there. If they were from Aunt Cinder then Papa would want to see them right away. She wondered if they would get there before Papa met up with that bad person he wanted to meet.

* * *

Roman groaned and pushed himself to his knees. He reached into his jacket, and after fingering the torn fabric, reached into the inner pocket for the item that had saved his life. He drew out Neo's teddy bear, stuffing falling out of the poor creature's punctured torso.

"Sorry about that old boy, but looks like you just got the sharp end of that deal." Roman mumbled to the child's toy in gratitude. Bellona might have been able to sense Roman's aura and known where to strike, but he wasn't able to anticipate the interference of Neo's favorite bear. Years of loving death-hugs had apparently toughened the bear to the point of being able to deflect a lethal blade.

"Don't worry though, I'll have you patched up and back to your dear little Neo before you know it." He rambled on, his tone soothing the bear's jittery nerves. Roman stopped talking to wonder why he was trying to comfort a toy, much less how he could think of the bear like that. He reached back into his jacket and touched the area where the dagger should have killed him. He felt something wet seeping into his gloves and drew out his hand.

"Whoa, he really did get me." Roman stared at his own blood, drying onto his gloves while the poison continued to course through him. "Dust, I should try and get some help." He pushed himself to his feet and staggered towards the entrance to the alley. He made it a few steps before he swayed too far in one direction and fell against the wall. As his eyesight started to fade, Roman could have sworn he saw two silhouettes making their way towards him.

* * *

When Roman next opened his eyes, all he could see was the ceiling of his hotel room. He knew it was his hotel room since a quick visual sweep of the room picked up his bags, Perry's collection of papers scattered on the courtesy desk, and Neo passed out at the end of the bed curled up like a kitten at his feet.

He made a move to sit up, forcing his aching muscles to push into a sitting position. The effort of it drained him and caused Neo to stir. She sat up and turned to him, red-rimmed white eyes looking sad enough to make even Roman consider shedding a few tears. She lunged at Roman, hugging him tightly while her silent sobs shook her body.

"Sorry to scare you Dearie." Roman petted Neo's hair, stroking it in the most soothing manner he could considering she had pinned one of his arms with her vice-like grip.

The sound of the room's door opening made Roman and Neo turn. A mystery duo were followed by an anxious-looking Perry. The girl of the duo looked at him with blood-red eyes while her gray male counterpart looked bored.

"It was very dangerous for you to go after Bellona alone, Mr. Torchwick. But Cinder was glad to see your initiative on dealing with the problem." She said, watching as Neo hopped off the bed to greet her new friend.

"And just who are you?" Roman asked, turning and finally realizing that he was bare-chested and bandaged.

The gray kid continued to look bored. "My name is Mercury and the one who saved your life is Emerald." He pointed to the mint-green girl that was chatting with a nodding Neo.

"And how did I survive? Bellona's poisons are famously impossible to counteract."

The boy…. Mercury, smiled wolfishly, "That's because most people don't cut out the infected tissue. You were lucky enough that we only needed to carve out a little."

Roman felt rather violated at the idea of two teenagers performing surgery on him while he was under the effects of the poison. Taking a second to actually look at the kids, he realized they were younger than Neo.

"So one quick question: Real or adopted?" The three blank looks told everything he needed to know. "Nevermind then."

* * *

Once Roman pulled himself together and was properly dressed, Emerald gave him a quick report of what had happened. After she and Mercury had been dispatched to watch and aid Roman's efforts, they had found his hotel room where Neo had given them the address of his meeting with Bellona. The two had arrived at the alley to find him completely delirious and dying from the poisoned wound on his chest. After spending two days ensuring that the poison hadn't left any permanent damage, they had been working with Perry to track down the traitor and they already had a lead.

"So where's he hiding?" Roman wanted to know.

"He's hiding in a White Fang meeting hall not far from here." Emerald told him. It had become clear to Roman that she was the one in charge out of the two.

"Okay then. Kids, time for a field trip."

* * *

The walk to the White Fang hideout was surprising uneventful for the five of them. They received more than a few confused looks at their irregular appearances but it wasn't something that people were going to report.

By the time they reached the abandoned building that the White Fang were using, Perry let his rabbit ears hang out, the obvious symbol of a Faunus to any scouts watching the outside.

When several members dressed in dark clothes and hoods came out, Perry quickly convinced them that Roman was a valuable friend who was pushing for Faunus equality. Roman wouldn't exactly go that far to embellish his personal stance on the situation, but he appreciated the boost to his reputation. He hired based off of skills, not personal bias.

"I still don't trust him." A gravelly, teenaged voice emanated from one of the hooded figures. Roman turned as the speaker pushed back their hood, revealing budding horns jutting out of red-brown hair and a judgmental look obscured by a small Grimm mask covering the speaker's face. It didn't take much for Roman to get a read on his naysayer.

"I'm guessing you've been burned by some previous contacts." Roman alleged of the teen boy, drawing a slight flinch from the otherwise agitated Faunus. He decided to smile before he continued, "And I respect that. Anyone can be a man of words." He flipped up his cane, depressing the small trigger to clear the hidden barrel's cover. By the time the White Fang members reacted to the concealed weapon, Roman had already done the unthinkable: let go of his weapon. He looked back at the boy, his own gaze feverishly intense, "But it takes something else to be a man of action."

The bull Faunus grunted, clearly annoyed but a slight nod was all Roman needed to see to know the kid was willing to listen. "Follow us."

Inside the building, White Fang banners adorned the walls alongside sappy slogans like "Work for Equality, not against Prejudice," or "Fight with Words, not Actions." Frankly this passive-aggressive bullshit was the type of thing Roman hated the most. But he managed to distract himself from it by looking at the actual members of the organization. Quietly talking in scattered groups, the Faunus were warily eyeing Roman and company, and doing their best to avoid his own gaze. _Cowards._

After walking around several walls of crates, they arrived at the main meeting area, where they found a tall cat-Faunus and Bellona Greyhide standing on a small dais and rallying a large crowd of Faunus. Roman used this to his advantage, slipping in and out of gaps within the group to reach the front before Bellona noticed him.

"Pardon the intrusion!" Roman shouted, his voice carrying over the noise and drawing everyone's attention to him. Bellona's eyes turned towards the interruption and came close to exploding out of his head at the sight of a living, breathing Roman. "Now I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Bellona Greyhide is a traitor to both the White Fang and myself."

The crowd's focus shifted once again, waiting to hear Bellona refute the charges while more combative members reached for hidden weapons.

"Lies!" Bellona shouted back before pointing an accusatory finger at Roman. "Everyone, this man is the Will O' Wisp of Vale. The heartless killer and nightmare of the underworld!" Roman rolled his eyes at the declaration while anyone nearby stepped back in fear.

Raising his cane with his casual air, Roman prepared his verbal counterattack, "That might be true but anyone that knows me could argue that fact about me being heartless. All I've ever wanted to do is provide for myself and my daughter and then its people like you that make me get violent. You know, traitors not only to me but to everyone around them. Like you, Bellona." Roman let a feral smile cross his face before he continued. "Like the way you've betrayed the White Fang to the police countless times. I hired you to keep the cops off of us, but to shift the blame to a group that you supposedly sympathize with is too low, even for someone I work with."

Bellona flinched as the crowd's opinion of him started to sway in Roman's favor. A quick look at the White Fang leader's doubting face next to him and he knew he was finished. Looking to the sides of the crowd and took notice of Neo, Emerald, Mercury, and Perry waiting there with weapons drawn, He couldn't stop the gulp as he caught sight of Perry's two-handed serrated axe and something told him the rabbit was the hunter in this situation, not the wolf.

Roman knew that he had cornered the rat, now all he needed to do was exterminate it. He let his cane's barrel flip open and opened fire. Bellona dodged the attacks by jumping back, using the White Fang leader as a shield to block Roman's line of sight. Perry led the children in a charge towards the traitor, agile despite his frail appearance.

"This is the Grey Wolf, I need back-up!" Bellona hollered, one hand over his ear while using the other to draw a dagger. Explosions began to rock the warehouse, including one that tore through the wall behind Bellona. Atlas police and robots swarmed through the dust-filled opening, flashlights piercing the area before turning their weapons towards Roman and the crowd of White Fang.

"Told you." Roman declared before opening fire on the Atlesian cops. Taking this opportunity, the crowd members who had readied their weapons earlier joined in, gunning down a dozen robots in the first wave of attacks. Bellona quickly ducked out the escape route they had made for him while his police friends attacked right back. The scene dissolved into total chaos when the crowd surged forward, urged by fleeing members from other sections of the compound.

* * *

Using the confusion of the charging White Fang and Perry's apt leadership of the kids, Roman found himself in the warehouse's parking lot, beyond the still smoking wall in the wall with Neo. They caught sight of Bellona jumping through a window into another warehouse, and began to sprint after him.

"Where's Perry and the other two?" He questioned her on the fly, not wanting to let that filthy traitor escape. Neo pointed back the way they came with her parasol, taking two steps to match each of Roman's strides. Roman hazarded a look back and caught a flash of Perry cutting down an Atlesian robot in a single swing.

"Oh, he's destressing. No back-up for us then." He met Neo's playful smirk with one of his own. Perry needed a break like this occasionally.

When they made it to the window, Neo elegantly flipped through gap left by Bellona while Roman hurtled through it, throwing glass everywhere on his own landing. Neo blocked any fragments from hitting herself by opening her parasol and pointing it in the window's direction. When Roman had recovered enough to look at her, she gave him an eyeroll that said everything. 16 years old and sassy as him, that was his daughter Neo.

"Hey, we can't all be skilled gymnasts the size of a middle schooler." Roman expected his teasing to be met with a kick to the shin after this was all over. He could feel his calf throbbing from her tiny, steel-toed heels already.

A quick look around showed that Bellona had apparently been cut by the glass, leaving a small trail of blood. Roman signed his plan to Neo before following the blood trail, cane at the ready. Neo disappeared down another aisle, following his instructions to sneak up on Bellona if possible.

Roman followed the blood deeper into the warehouse, stepping over obstacles that had been hastily made by Bellona. Piles of items knocked over, shifted boxes, and the occasional fake hiding spot

"C'mon Fluffy, if you come out now, I'll make it painless. If I have to chase you down, I can't promise I won't torture you first." Roman called out as he reached an intersection. He caught sight of a shadow shifting, and quickly flipped his cane around. Bellona turned to run, only to hear the soft puff of air as Roman's cane handle flew out to grab him by the shoulder.

Bellona was pulled off his feet, but managed to swing his dagger through the cord binding the cane's handle to its proper body. He stood up and faced Roman, who looked plenty irritated.

"Do you have any idea how much it'll cost me to get that fixed?" Roman snarled, letting the cane's body slide in his hand to become an attack baton.

"Not much, considering I'll just kill you!" Bellona challenged, rushing at Roman in hopes of landing even a single blow. Roman swung his cane-baton, knocking the dagger away before trying to punch Bellona. The wolf Faunus dodged, ducking down another passage between crates before Roman could recover.

Roman pursued, getting angrier at this traitor's defiant attempts. He turned a corner, only to meet a steel pipe mid-swing. He raised his cane to try and block it, failing to prevent it from connecting with his shoulder.

"Son of a-" Roman started to curse, aiming a kick at Bellona's legs to force him back. Roman couldn't feel the associated arm, and gripped his cane tightly with his other arm to make sure he didn't lose it.

"Benefits of knowing where your aura is weak." Bellona reminded him, moving to attack Roman again. They clashed for a few minutes, knocking each other into the crates that made up the walls of the passage. Mid-clash, Roman felt feeling return to his arm, letting him lash out and catch Bellona's wrist, forcing him to drop his dagger. Bellona countered, twisting his body over Roman's arm to kick him in the side of the head. Roman's head snapped to the side and he broke through the crate wall to hit a set of metal shelves. He tried to recover as his eyesight blurred, signaling he had been concussed.

 _Fuck._ Roman swore mentally feeling his feet go out from underneath him. In the second before he hit the ground, he heard the shelves start tip over. They landed on top of him, pinning his right arm and leg.

"So this is where the tale of the Will O' Wisp ends." Bellona's voice reached Roman's ears, and he tried to focus on a shadow hovering over him.

"Not likely." Roman retorted, a smile crossing his face despite his situation. His vision cleared up, revealing Bellona's dagger hovering not far from his face.

"And why's that?" Bellona questioned, flipping his retrieved dagger between his hands. He wanted to savor this kill, after all the misery Roman had put him through.

"Because you forgot about the other Wisp." Roman replied, his words met by the wet sound of steel piercing flesh. Bellona's pained gasp was music to Roman's ears as the shadow dropped away to reveal Neo, her parasol's hidden sword sticking out of Bellona's body. Roman could see Neo's eyes, watering despite the iron-clad determination in them. With a struggle, he freed himself from the shelf and made his way to his daughter. He pulled her sword free, cleaning it with a snap of his wrist. He put it back into its parasol sheath before pulling Neo into a hug.

"That's it Dearie. Don't ever get used to the feeling of what you did. You need to be better than your old man by doing that." Roman consoled her, memories of his own first kill giving him the words to speak.

* * *

Folded in her Papa's arms, Neo let loose a flood of tears. But they weren't just because she had killed her first person. No, they were because she had enjoyed it. Something deep within her had enjoyed the weight of the blow, the way his body had spasmed before falling. She was crying because she didn't want to enjoy it.

* * *

Roman and Neo made their way back to the White Fang's warehouse, glad to see Perry waiting outside with Emerald, Mercury, and the bull Faunus teen that had met them at the entrance.

"You were right. Anyone can be a man of words." The bull Faunus admitted, setting the tip of a sheathed katana at his feet.

Roman shrugged his shoulders, before responding, "Then become a man of action. You saw what happened today. Learn from this and take action."

The bull Faunus nodded before turning and heading back into the battlefield that remained of the warehouse.

"Sum up what we missed Perry." Roman requested of his right-hand man, knowing he needed to figure out their next step.

"I'll happily assume Bellona was eliminated." Perry said with a smile, "We drove off the Atlas authorities, but the White Fang has a lot of casualties. They aren't a violent or well-armed group."

"Maybe that'll change after all this." Roman considered, knowing that he'd already planted the seeds in that one kid's head.

"Anyways, sir, I think that it's best we leave Atlas for the time being." Perry mentioned, then looked at Emerald and Mercury.

"Oh don't worry about us," Emerald reassured them, "we've got our own way home. See you next time, Mr. Torchwick." Without a backwards glance, the two teens sprinted off, quickly disappearing into the myriad of alleys and buildings that made up this section of the city.

"Okay then," Roman stated, "let's go back to the hotel and then we're out of here."

* * *

After their flight landed in Vale, all the news could talk about was an apparently violent confrontation between the Atlas Police Department and the White Fang, which had left plenty dead on each side. Roman felt a flicker of guilt at the senseless deaths of the White Fang members, but it was covered by the anger he felt at the thought of Bellona.

When they returned to the hideout to drop off their work materials, the three of them were met with three unexpected guests: Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury.

"To what do I owe the pleasure this time, Cinder?" Roman wondered aloud, spreading his arms to signal his usual lack of restraint.

"I came to congratulate you on dealing with our Atlas problem so quickly." Cinder told him, strutting towards him on her glass heels. "Also, I'm going on a trip for a while. So I decided to deliver my last order for some time."

"Well have fun on vacation Cinder, see you the next time you feel the need to interfere." Roman dismissed her, stepping back as she drew closer.

"Is that really the last words you have for me?" Cinder's eyes glowed dangerously, reminded Roman of why he knew better than to mess with her.

"Don't let the port officials use the random strip search as an excuse to sneak a peek." Roman came up with on the spot, cheeky grin in place.

Cinder's eyes flared dangerously, making him internally flinch. "You are to start stealing Dust. And don't sell any of it. Keep it stored wherever you can hide it." She motioned to her own children, "Come you two. We have places to be." Cinder left, trailed by Emerald and Mercury.

"Later old man." Mercury quipped before following the two females out of the hideout.

Perry and Neo stood by, waiting to see Roman's reaction to his newest orders.

"I do an excellent job fixing a serious problem and she's the one that gets a vacation? Thieves' honor, my busted cane."

* * *

 **And with this the prequel arc will be coming to a close. Which means it's time for the canon storyline and events!** **But more seriously, here we see Neo's more "killer" instincts beginning to manifest, we see Adam's distrust of humans countered by Roman's example, and we even get a taste of why the White Fang got so bad.**

 **See you in the next chapter! Please review, favorite, and follow since I can't guarantee when the next chapter will be released.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Infamy and Little Red Annoyances**

Roman waited exactly one month before totally giving up on Cinder. No communications from her, no special deposits in any of his bank accounts or dead drops. Nothing. Which meant that he was free and clear as far as he could tell. To which he threw a party. A literal party, with streamers, cake, everything.

And so Roman returned to his criminal empire's roots, terrorizing Vale and Atlas with their well-crafted plans and near omnipotence.

After a year, he started to question why he ever listened to Cinder. After two years, he thought she might have been a stress-induced hallucination. Which was why he spent an entire year on vacation in Vacuo with Neo. And on that trip he learned that she had a taste for tall blondes with curves, which he couldn't say he expected but as long as she was happy he wasn't going to care what, or who, she did. So long as she was safe about it.

It was during his fourth year post-Cinder that things started to get a little dicey. The Vale police got a wave of new recruits and started to crack down on corruption in their ranks. Not a major headache, but still annoying. It only became worse for him when several of them turned state's-evidence and locked up some of his higher-level guys. So in a safe move, he had decided to hire some new guys from Xiong's kid, who had taken over the nightclub and changed it into one of those trendy places with live DJ's and electronic dance floors a few years back, much to Neo's delight.

Roman pushed open the doors to Junior's Nightclub, glad to see it was empty of people other than a single woman sitting at the far end of the bar.

"Junior, just the kid I was looking for!" He declared at the sight of the bearded twenty-something polishing glasses in the bartender uniform that Roman himself had once worn. He nodded at the twin ladies that Xiong let guard his place.

"Mister Torchwick, what brings you this time?" Junior professionally replied to the flamboyant criminal. Something to be expected from a lifelong member of their underground world.

"Looking for some muscle. Having a hard time since I got my uncle on my back." The orange-haired man replied in code, sliding an envelope across the stainless surface.

"Well, considering that's your mother sitting down there, I suggest you ask her." Junior replied, indicating the only other person in the nightclub. Roman squinted to get a better look at the woman before his blood turned cold. The same raven-black hair, same red dress, and the same aura of deadly beauty. He panicked when the woman turned towards him, a slight frown on her still beautiful face. Cinder's eyes promised him pain as she took a seat next to him.

"Dear Roman, did you forget what I told you before I left?" She inquired, a finger lazily circling on the countertop.

Roman was too stunned to come up with a response. _Oh sweet fucking hell, I'm about to die._

When she didn't hear a response, she decided to speak for him. "Considering how long it's been, I'll give you a reminder. I ordered you to steal as much Dust as you could. So tell me, how's that going?"

"Lousy, the cops busted so many of my top guys that I've been forced to hire new people while sending the others into hiding." Roman half-lied, looking to Junior for support. But one look at the owner and current bartender told him he wasn't going to get it.

"Is that why you spent a year in Vacuo? Trying to let some of your work's heat blow over?" Roman didn't bite on her leading questions.

"Fine. You got me. I didn't think you were ever going to be back."

"I certainly hope it would take you less time to replace a woman in your heart." Roman choked, wondering what she could possibly mean by that.

"Pardon?"

"Oh poor, sweet Roman… did you think I didn't have you leashed?" Cinder gloated, a smirk on her face. "Ever since that first day you accepted my help." She held out a small device that Roman identified as a GPS locator. One that indicated a spot in Vale that he recognized as his home. Where Neo currently was.

Roman could barely grasp it. He'd been played. All those times that Cinder seemed to know exactly where he was. Knowing that he'd gone to Atlas to deal with Bellona. All of it because she'd had her doctor friend hide a tracker inside of Neo. His daughter, the one person he could never live without, was the bloody seal on his deal with the devil sitting in front of him.

"You bitch." Roman seethed, somehow restraining himself despite his desire to break her neck as fast as he could manage.

Cinder's eyes flared with destructive power before settling into a simmer. "Now, now my dear Roman. Don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same in my position?" He couldn't deny that. "Besides, if you don't keep a leash on your dog, how else will you stop it from running away?"

Roman ground his teeth to keep any more curses from escaping. He knew. He knew from the moment he had met her that she was a level of evil that he simply wasn't.

"Since my master needs to have this done, I'll be waiting for you back at your office to make sure you step up and prove your usefulness." Cinder told him, standing up and starting to leave the nightclub.

"Didn't know you were into BDSM." Roman swiftly muttered, trying to recover some of his wounded pride with his wit. The over the shoulder look and the glare she gave him told him he'd struck a successful blow. He heard the click of her new glass heels before the doors slammed shut.

"You should probably…" Xiong's son started to say before Roman stood up on his own.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Roman tipped his cap to his fellow denizen of the underworld before making his own way out of the club. But as he made it to the doors, he caught sight of a tall, curvy blonde making her way towards the bar. _Neo's type and she isn't even here to hit on her._

* * *

For the next week, Cinder's slave-driving tactics taxed Roman's mental faculties to their limits. But he got his results. One of his warehouses was nearly full of Dust and he was currently in the market for a larger one near the pier.

He had Cinder hide a Bullhead near his next target: **From Dust To Dawn**. It was one of the largest independent stores and now he was going to use Junior's men to take it down. Once the men he hired arrived, Roman lit a cigar and led them to the store. The first thing he did was activate his semblance, noting that a scroll and music player were located in the back of the store before overloading the security system that he could sense.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a Dust shop open this late?" He inquired, tapping some ash from his cigar onto the floor.

One of his men pointed a gun straight in the shopkeeper's face, risking giving the old man a heart attack. "Please, just take my lien and leave." The man was hskaing from head to toe, a clear danger to his health.

To stop that, Roman took on a calming tone. "Calm down, we're not here for your money." The man seemed to relax a little. "Grab the Dust." His order was met by a flurry of motion from the black-suited goons. They swept up the Dust crystals in the display and began emptying the powder from their tubes. He didn't really pay attention as one of his men went to clear the store.

But he noticed when the thug was sent flying into a small shelf of cans. He sensed a slight change in the position of the scroll and nodded his head to the nearest suited rent-a-muscle.

"Freeze!" He heard the thug order whoever it was. There was a momentary pause before the thug and his aggressor were thrown through the front plate-glass window.

Everyone other than the Dust shop's owner converged on the now-shattered window, wondering just what they were dealing with. Roman practically shouted his disbelief at the insane sight in front of him. A young black and red-themed girl, barely into her teens with a giant red mecha-shifting scythe was standing out in the streets looking at them with decidedly fearless silver eyes. She spun her weapon, which happened to be the size of her, around before planting its tip in the ground.

He could here whatever guitar-heavy music was pounding out of her headphones and found himself sincerely tempted to overload out of pure spite. But he managed to reign in the impulse. He was a master thief and professional criminal, not an outspoken bully and jackass. She thankfully turned it off, waiting for him to make a move of his own.

"Okay…." He tilted his head to signal the gathered thugs. "Get her."

He stood back to watch as his three remaining goons were systematically beaten down by the girl, even the one carrying the machine gun. Roman carefully stepped out of the store through the broken window and stood in the street, only mildly surprised when his last henchman landed at his feet.

"You were worth every cent. Truly you were." The orange-haired crime boss's unrestrained sarcasm was running rampant. "Well, Red I think we call all agree this has been an eventful evening." He dropped his cigar to his feet and crushed it with his cane. "And as much as much as I would like to stick around…" His cane came up and he flicked the small switch to uncover its barrel. "I'm afraid this…. is where we part ways." A quick pull of the trigger fired a flare right at the girl, forcing her to dodge. Roman used that moment to sprint across the street and start climbing a fire-escape ladder to the rendezvous point where Cinder would be waiting with the Bullhead. He had barely cleared the roof before he heard a gunshot behind him, telling the criminal that he had some unwanted company.

"Hey!" Red called out to him as he stood near the edge of the building, wondering what was taking Cinder so long. _So help me woman if you sell me out now I'm turning every asset I have against you._

"Persistent." He was annoyed that he was now stuck waiting on the fiery bitch, but he had to give credit to Red for trying to give chase. When he heard the roar of the engines below him, he knew he was free.

Cinder maneuvered the Bullhead into an appropriate position before opening the automatic side door. He hopped up and into the air transport and grabbed a handhold before shouting out to his little pursuer.

"End of the line, Red!" He pulled one of the Burn Dust crystals he had just stolen out of a pocket and tossed it to approximately her feet before shooting it with his cane. A brilliant red fireball replaced the girl.

"Woohoo!" He shouted in joy, figuring that explosion had either killed her or tossed her from the building's roof. But as the smoke cleared, he caught sight a purple light glowing from the spot. When it had entirely dissipated, a blonde woman holding a riding crop of all things was standing there, looking quite prim.

 _Oh fuck._ The thought ran straight through Roman's head. The woman swept her crop forward, launching several telekinetic blasts on the Bullhead. As Roman struggled to keep his balance on the pitching floor, he realized that for all of Cinder's power, she still couldn't fly like he could.

Making his way to the cockpit, he decided to let her know what he thought of their situation. "We've got a Huntress." _Sometimes you need a problem to solve a bigger one._ Cinder slid out of the pilot's seat and right by Roman, a very annoyed look on her face. _And she's pissed, wonderful._ He thought as he grabbed the control stick and took up his rightful seat.

Roman couldn't stop himself from sighing a bit when he noticed the sudden storm the Huntress had conjured. _Today's just one of those days, isn't it?_

Ice Dust-infused hail shards started to rain down, piercing the Bullhead and the even piercing the windshield. Ducking out of the way, Roman noticed one shard impaled in the seat not far from where his head had been. _Not playing around._ He watched as the Huntress and his boss dueled through the side windows, barely managing to react in time for an attack directed at crippling the Bullhead. Once Cinder had suitably distracted them, he flipped the switch on the door and began to fly away.

By the time that Roman was certain they were free from pursuit, Cinder had already slid into the copliot's chair.

"So how much Dust did you retrieve?" She questioned, still looking frustrated.

"A handful of crystals and several contained vials of the stuff." He explained, turning out the numerous and hidden pockets of his coat as proof. "Had to leave most of the haul along with the help behind."

Cinder took the news silently before standing and moving to stand directly behind Roman's seat. He became even more confused when she removed his ascot and bowler cap, tossing his accessories into her empty seat.

 _What the h—_ His thought was cut off by the feeling of her hands slipping down the back of his shirt, settling near the tips of his shoulder blades.

He didn't have time to react as the hands became blisteringly hot, instantly burning the skin and tissue underneath.

"God… fucking….!" He swore, doing everything he could to retain control over the aircraft and not succumb to the excruciating pain currently being inflicted on him.

"The faster you get back to headquarters, the sooner this stops." She calmly replied, as if telling him that his hat was askew.

He grunted his understanding and pushed the accelerator forward, not trusting himself to open his mouth without letting out a tortured scream. And he wasn't going to give the bitch that satisfaction.

By the time that they landed, Roman was certain most of his back was severely burned and he could smell the telltale smoke of his undershirt having been burned away too. When the Bullhead had come to a complete stop, Cinder took her hands away and casually walked out. Roman himself didn't have the strength to do more than grab his removed accessories and stumble into Perry's waiting arms.

* * *

Neo was surprised when her Papa returned for the first time in a week. He had left a message about needing to work constantly and thus left her to take care of herself. Something she could do now that she was 21. The first few nights, she had brought home girls that she had met at bars for one-night stands. But that had been too boring since none of them were really her preferred type. Blond, aggressive, and curvy was what she liked and Vale seemed to be lacking in that department. Unlike Vacuo.

But when she heard the front door slam open, she had skipped out to find her Uncle Perry supporting Papa as he carried his coat, ascot, and hat in his hands. His black undershirt had been partially seared off and Neo could see the serious burns that marred her father's back.

 _What=happened?_ She desperately signed, helping Uncle Perry stretch Papa out on the kitchen table, stomach down.

"Bad run-in with a Huntress and an armed bystander, Dearie. Nothing to worry about." Her dad explained, wincing as he turned his face towards her. "But you remember your Aunt Cinder right?"

She nodded, wondering what her missing relative had to do with anything.

"She's back in town and needs us to work for her again." He had an insincere smile on his face, but Neo couldn't figure out what he was trying to hide. "But since I'm going to be laid up with this injury for a while, I'm going to need you to take over until I'm all healed up. Think of it as training for when I retire."

Neo's pink-brown eyes changed to white, full of happiness. Her Papa had been training her to take over someday, but to think that he trusted her enough to not only make plans and keep everyone in line while he recovered was too much. She gave his head a gentle hug, simply enjoying the closeness with her only family.

"Now Uncle Perry and I have some things to discuss and you are gonna need a good night's rest for tomorrow." Papa told her, raising a hand to pet her head. She preened for a moment under his praise before skipping off. She had things to get ready and plans to formulate.

* * *

Once Roman was certain that Neo wasn't in earshot, he let out a pained moan. Cinder's hands had burned him down to the deep tissue, guaranteeing he was going to have some huge scars from this.

Wordlessly, Perry sprang into action. He started treating the edge burns, the ones where his nerves hadn't been destroyed and were currently protesting their survival. Roman nearly passed out towards the end when the Faunus started to bandage the afflictions.

"Is it really a good idea to let your daughter near her?" The yes-man questioned, knowing how much his employer loved the girl.

"I don't have much a choice." The orange-haired man explained, "Cinder has me stuck in her web and the only one I know she won't hurt is Neo. The moment she does, she loses the leash on me." Roman's eyes fell to the ground, finally letting the weight of his defeat at her hands claim him.

"Sir?" Perry questioned, having never seen that during his decade-long service.

"I need you to get in contact with some of your friends in the White Fang." Roman ordered his right-hand. "If this comes to a head, we're going to need an army."

* * *

The next morning Neo woke up especially early, unusually nervous about the sudden promotion from occasional tagalong and independent worker to head of a bi-continental crime syndicate. She ate a light breakfast, said goodbye to her Papa, who was lying prone on their couch, and went on her way.

She made it to the warehouse that operated as one of the syndicate's headquarters, and was happily greeted by several of the pickpockets that she normally spent her days with. She watched them leave for the day, and went into the main office. There she found notes and half-finished plans in Roman's handwriting. She started looking them over, trying to understand exactly what the overall scheme was.

"Oh my, Neo. I didn't expect to see you here." A female voice made Neo's head jerk up, her eyes both turning pink in surprise. Cinder stood in the doorway, a slight smile on her face.

Neo smiled at the sight of her god-aunt and mother of her cousins Mercury and Emerald. But she hadn't seen them in a long time. Since she remembered her aunt's preference, Neo whipped out her scroll and typed out a text faster than even the most tech-savvy teens.

 _Aunt Cinder, I missed you! But Papa got hurt on a job last night, so I'm taking over until he's healed._ Cinder read the text, and gave a frown at the information.

"Is it a serious injury?" She questioned.

 _It's bad. Most of his back is burned. But how are Mercury and Emerald?_

"They're doing quite fine and should be arriving soon."

 _That's great! Haven't seen them in a while. Sorry but I need to get to work. Like Papa says: if you don't crack the whip, you won't stay the master._

Cinder chuckled at the quote, giving Neo a sense of understanding. "He always had a smart line for everything."

* * *

Roman sprawled face-down on his couch, looking at his list of "employees" on his scroll. He figured that once the idiots heard he was injured, certain ones would try to take over. And fail miserably, considering he hadn't trained Neo for nothing.

He shifted slightly, wincing at the pulling of burnt issue along his back. Cinder was absolutely insane. No doubt about it. _Who the hell burns the pilot of your airship while you're still flying?_

Thinking about what he needed, he dialed an underground doctor on his payroll. "Get over here." He hung up, leaving no room for debate. "This is going to suck to escape from." In order to ease his anxiety, he focused on his memories of the trip to Vacuo.

 _Sunny beaches, bottles of expensive wine, and all the pretty women that were looking for a bad boy to call their own. Neo's own flings with several blondes that made it necessary for him to get a second apartment so they wouldn't disturb each other's_ fun. He couldn't stop a smile from crossing his face. _Like father, like daughter._

* * *

The next few days tested Neo's semblance in ways she had never had to use it before. Creating 3-dimensional copies of her father and making them speak to keep up the illusion that he was actually fine was tough when she didn't really have any experience speaking, which led to more than a few confused responses to the illusion's orders. She shook her head as she ducked out of the office that she had sequestered herself in, and looked around to see a group of lower-ranked members talking amongst themselves. She snuck over, using the shadows and her natural grace to get close without being detected.

"I heard that the real Roman's dead, and his multicolored bitch is just pretending to be him to take over. Makes it prime to take over or go into business for ourselves." One of them said, looking into everyone's eyes.

"What the fuck is his relationship with her anyways? There's no way an old and flamboyant dick like him actually has a kid like that." Said another, making several emphatic gestures to accompany his rather perverse suggestion.

"Yeah, a piece of ass like that ain't coming from him. Must be riding him for his money." A third one said, nudging another member of the group. Before he could say a word, the distinct sound of a sword being drawn made them turn. Standing right behind him, her umbrella's sword unsheathed, was Neo with tears of rage in her eyes. She felt a malevolent smile cross her face when the blood drained from the faces of her soon-to-be victims. Her mismatching white-brown eyes found the perfect spot for her to stand. She casually walked into the heart of the group, her sword passing through the first man's neck while her illusions kept the others from noticing her casual murder of their comrade.

After tucking her umbrella-sheath under a dainty arm, she pulled out her scroll and typed out a short message into a speak-mimicking program.

"Disloyalty to my father is a death sentence." The scroll robotically stated, and Neo dropped her illusion. The utter shock and terror at the reveal made her only giddier to continue. The survivors started to panic, making a move to escape. With little more than a quick swipe of her sword, Neo removed the legs of the second and third men as the screams of their pain echoed through the warehouse. She could hear the murmur of more people coming to see what was going on, but the tri-colored girl was lost to her rage and bloodlust. The fourth member of the group sat frozen in shock, feeling a warm liquid puddling in his pants at the sight of Neo's doll-like face flecked with blood and the wide smile of a psychopath.

"Insulting my father in my presence is grounds for death." Another robotic message, another cut neck to silence the offender. The third man started to drag himself away by his arms, only to find them removed with an almost lazy swing of Neo's sword. A petite foot rolled him over and tilted his head up to ensure they made eye contact. Any pleas for mercy died in his whimpers as he caught sight of the horrific pain her eyes promised him.

"And treating me like some pathetic piece of meat for you to enjoy makes you my toy." The sword's point found its way into his appendix, extracting a wordless scream of pain. A momentary reprieve came as the sword left his body, only to plunge back into his left kidney. She dragged it upward, teasing it through his pancreas and nicking his stomach to drag out as many screams as she could without forcing it against the ribcage. By now she knew that the entirety of the warehouse's personnel had collected, and decided to finish up. She pulled out her sword and punctured his lungs. She watched as the combination of blood loss, internal acids eating away at vital organs, and the lack of air snuffed the life in his eyes. Waiting a few seconds to savor his terrified expression, she turned back to the fourth member of the group, who was still sitting in the same spot he had been in the entire time.

She walked over in front of him, blinking and switching her eyes to brown-pink and studying his frozen face. She flicked the blood off of her sword and sheathed it in front of his eyes before typing a final message into her scroll.

"Insubordination of any kind isn't tolerated in my Papa's syndicate, understood?" The device questioned the sole survivor. She watched as his jaw slowly unclenched to reply, resisting the desire to keep killing now that she had started.

"Of course, ma'am." He nodded, trying to retain some dignity. Once he replied, Neo gave a sincere smile and stood on her tiptoes to pat the top of his head. Before he could comprehend what had just happened, she skipped back into the office while twirling her umbrella, happy that they had all just learned their lessons.

* * *

Roman less than satisfied to find Perry waiting in his living room for the redhead to wake up from his nap. He had fallen into a routine of treating his wounds, taking his pain medication and then sleeping on the couch to ensure he wouldn't roll onto the tender and recovering flesh.

"Well, did you manage to get us the back-up?" The injured crime boss questioned, starting to push himself up with a wince as the muscles pulled.

"About that sir…" Perry started, fidgeting. "Apparently Cinder already secured their 'aid' for her own endeavors."

Instead of the expected rage, Perry only heard a discontented sigh from his boss. "Figures. The bitch has got some big plans then. Perry, we need to be ready to comply until the moment we can escape."

"Sir?" The Faunus's ears twitched, shocked.

"She's going to change the world with that master of hers. So we'll play along until we get out. Got it?"

"Of course, sir."

* * *

 **Since the last chapter was posted, Volume 3 finished and well… things happened, secrets were revealed, and our beloved duo were *spoilers* defeated atop a crashing Atlas airship with Roman eaten by a griffon.**

 **What will happen from here on out in the story will change slightly from my original plan, but it will essentially continue to follow the original source material with my AU spin on the series.**


End file.
